Former Hamilton principal retires from township job over missing money

By Michael Macagnone, Hamiltoninfocus.blogspot.com

Friday, March 15, 2013

A former Hamilton school principal and director of the Bromley Neighborhood Civic Center retired in the last week after being confronted by township officials about missing funds, several sources close to the investigation said.

Gary Gray, the former principal of Wilson Elementary School, resigned after township officials asked about where some $4,000 in township funds had gone to in the past three years, according to sources who were familiar with the investigation, but were not allowed to comment publicly.

When asked about his retirement, Gray said it was a personal decision and when asked about the missing township funds, he declined comment. He retired as principal in 2001, according to state records.

“No, no, no comment. No comment at all,” he said.

Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede said Gray was no longer a township employee, but said she could not comment further because it was a personnel matter.

According to the sources, township officials noticed irregularities last summer as part of the normal auditing process. Then, they brought in the township’s auditor and police to further investigate before confronting Gray this week.

The missing money allegedly came from trip funds that were supposed to be deposited in township accounts, but were not. Investigators will also be looking back further than the past three years, to see if there are any other missing funds.

The sources said the matter could be referred to the county prosecutor’s office, but that could not be immediately confirmed.

Gray was the director of the civic center in Bromley since it was founded under former Mayor Glen Gilmore’s administration 10 years ago. It houses an evening recreation program for Hamilton teenagers as well as a food bank.